Kurdistan Region PM Barzani meets Iran's Pezeshkian in Tehran

WASHINGTON, United States — Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Tehran on Friday, according to a statement from the Kurdistan Region Prime Ministry. Barzani was in the Iranian capital to attend the funeral ceremony of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the statement said. The two leaders discussed expanding trade and economic cooperation between Iran and Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region. They also emphasized strengthening historical and cultural ties in what the statement described as serving mutual interests. Regional security and recent developments were also on the agenda, with both sides underlining the need to resolve disputes through dialogue and peaceful means. Barzani and Pezeshkian expressed hope that recently concluded talks between Tehran and Washington would bring lasting peace and stability to the region. The statement concluded with a call for cooperation between regional countries to usher in what it described as a new period of constructive relations.